Apologies for the wait! I was going to upload this next chapter yesterday but something that had me busy came up. However, there is no need to fear, because now the next chapter is here!
As usual with battles like these, I recommend listening to epic battle or cinematic music while reading to give a better experience.
Now without further ado, let's continue!
Update: Noticed a dialogue mistake. Now it is fixed.
"FER BERK!"
Gobber pointed his prosthetic down towards the enemy, aiming directly at Ivar, and with that the hundreds of Dragon riders roared as they flew down to take on the Great Viking Army.
And now the battle was about to turn for the worst for Ivar
Stoick rose his axe up as the riders of Berk and their Dragons descended, lobbing it into the chest of a Jomsviking warrior he was facing before quickly decapitating him. "PUSH FORWARD, VIKINGS!"
Almost instantly the fighting continued, and this time, the forces of the Archipelago and their allies were bolstered, so much so that they charged head on into Ivar's ranks, clashing with them to the point where they were slowly being pushed back once more, especially since now their forces were being blasted apart and tossed up into the air by the riders of Berk.
Up in the air Hiccup was able to come back to his senses. He immediately ordered Toothless to attack, and the Night Fury quickly obliged - firing a plasma blast towards a nearby Gronckle which was enough to knock the Dragon out of the sky unconscious.
The Dragons that surrounded him locked their eyes onto him and the Riders, but before they could attack their glances immediately shifted towards the many dozens of Berkian Dragon riders that flew onto them from behind, and at the front of the flying flock was Gobber.
Ivar's Dragons quickly turned their backs on Hiccup, storming towards Gobber and those who accompanied him. But as they engaged the blonde Viking and his fellow Vikings, it seemed that their numbers and strength was too much. The Berkian riders and their Dragons slowly began plucking them out of the sky, breathing out fire and even going as far as to piling on them to pin them down.
As Hiccup saw this unfold, he heard Gobber's voice speak up - and immediately his attention turned to him. Along with that, Spitelout, Sven, and Bucket and Mulch were also with him.
Snotlout rose both of his brows however as he spotted his father on his Nadder. "Dad?!" he called out. "What are you doing here? I thought you-"
"We're here to help you, boy-o!" Spitelout replied. "As for my Dragon, I'll tell you later! For now leave this to us!"
"Just you and your lot?" spoke Hiccup. "But we can clean this mess up faster if we-"
Gobber shook his head. "Save it Hiccup! Jus' go an' help yer father! We'll deal with tha rest o' these buggers!"
"Very well, Gobber! ...Also, I just want to say thank you! You helped secure our victory over this battle today!"
The older man shook his head. "This battle isn't over yet, laddie! Now go!"
Hiccup nodded, turning his gaze back to the others. "Riders! On me! Magnus, come help me out!"
"With pleasure!" Magnus called out. "Come, Thorwind! Let's light them up!"
Hiccup, Magnus and the Riders descended their Dragons down towards Stoick and the other Chieftains, ready to give the enemy all they had. By now a majority of the Great Army had been slain, and some even began retreating. But now things were about to get even worse for them.
Hiccup and his allies would ensure that none of them would leave the battlefield alive.
"We can't let them escape!" Hiccup called out, turning his eyes to his allies. "Mala! Get your archers to fire onto their retreating warriors! Take them down!"
Mala nodded as she heard his voice, raising her blade up after swiftly slicing it across the neck of a Saxon warrior. "DEFENDERS OF THE WING, AIM YOUR ARROWS ONTO THEM! LET NONE ESCAPE!"
The Defenders from afar immediately brought forth their archers, and soon a large volley of arrows flew over the battlefield. Hundreds of them came pouring over the warriors who were retreating, and yet even after that one volley they still would not stop firing.
None were able to retreat.
Hiccup's eyes then turned to Alvin. "Alvin! Charge through the center with my dad, and get Bertha and Mogadon around the flanks!"
"With pleasure!" he replied back. "Outcasts, get yer rears te tha center! PUSH 'EM BACK! Mogadon, Bertha, get around tha flanks!"
As Alvin led the Outcasts down through center of the battlefield to assist Stoick, Bertha and the Bog Burglars along with Mogadon and the Meatheads ran around the left and right flanks of the Great Army's forces. Though the battle was spread out as a result of Ivar ordering the rest of his army forward, their intention was to group the enemy back up from the flanks.
And it seemed to be working.
Satisfied with what Hiccup was seeing, he continued the fight along with the other Riders, flying across the field over the heads of the large armies that fought below and blasting the enemy to cinders.
With all of the combined effort from Berk's Dragon riders, the Tribes and the allied Clans, and even Hiccup and the group, Ivar's army was slowly falling apart. However, it was not falling apart entirely, nor quick enough.
Though many of Ivar's Dragons were dropping towards the ground like leaves, some of the Berkian riders were unfortunate to get pinned down by hand-tossed bolas.
From afar, Hiccup saw a Dragon and their rider get taken out of the sky by multiple bolas from an oncoming force of some remaining Dark Eye Vikings. The crazed Swedish warriors then charged the rider and his Dragon, eager to take them out.
Hiccup lowered his brows as he tightly grasped onto the head of his saddle, turning Toothless towards the downed rider. "C'mon, Toothless! Show 'em what you've got Bud!"
The Night Fury opened his mouth, lighting it up in flames as he dive-bombed directly towards the charging Dark Eye Vikings. As soon as he was a few mere yards away from them he then fired his swift but powerful plasma blast, knocking the Dark Eye Vikings down to the ground in flames. Along with that, the bolas quickly burnt from Toothless' fire, allowing the rider and his Dragon to fly back up and re-engage the battle.
"Haha! Excellent, Bud!" cheered Hiccup.
Toothless warbled in satisfaction as he continued his assault on the enemy, once more pummeling his fiery attacks onto them as if they were just sport to him.
Even the Riders were having a good time taking down their foe one by one, and even groups at a time or by the dozens.
However, Astrid would not be so lucky.
From the corner of her eye she spotted multiple bolas coming at her from the left, and before she could even react she felt Stormfly crashing down as her wings and limbs were wrapped and caught by the large heavy ropes.
Before they could hit the ground however, Astrid quickly hurled herself off Stormfly, rolling to break her fall until she was able to stand up to her feet and straighten herself out. She could see that they both landed in a clearing off to the side of the battle, making them both completely exposed. She tightened the grip on her axe in case anyone was to approach her and her Dragon.
One man however, did.
Ivar rode before her atop his chariot, grinning evilly as he tauntingly spun his bullhook at her.
"Well well well!" he laughed. "Look who it is! You must Astrid Hofferson; Hiccup's girlfriend and lover. Oh I've heard so much about you ever since you and your friends were captured at Skyrsdok. Tell me, shieldmaiden - how does it feel to be facing me, a God, head on?"
Astrid arched a brow. "Wait- you, a God?" she chuckled. "Now that I find funny! There is no way that you're a God, and nor will you ever be! Only Odin knows who the true Gods are, and you are not one of them!"
"Ah, but I am." he said. "I am the God Ivar, and as part of the Aesir I say that it will be my pleasure to kill you in their name! You stand no chance!"
"No chance against a cripple?" asked Astrid. "If I butchered your horse you would be useless on your chariot. You can't-"
"That is where you are wrong."
Ivar lowered his brows, rotating himself to face the back of his chariot. Using his bullhook he effortlessly helped himself off the chariot, hastily limping until his feet touched the ground - standing tall and straight.
It was clear to Astrid that compared to her and even Hiccup, Ivar was quite tall - especially for someone his age.
As the young Viking King turned to face Astrid, he swiftly made his way towards the shocked shieldmaiden - walking until he stopped in place, standing more than a few feet off in front of her.
Astrid's eyes were widened. "You- you can walk? Impossible..."
Ivar chuckled. "Nothing is impossible if you're a God. Now, fight me!"
Without wasting another word, the two Vikings rushed at each other, raising their weapons as they met and began brawling it out; and although the two were great warriors, it was obvious that Ivar was the better warrior of their fight.
Astrid knew that although Ivar could walk, he was not entirely invincible. To slow him down, she focused on circling the stronger and more skilled Viking, striking in vulnerable spots that were either out of reach for him to block. To help along with this, Astrid also used her acrobatics to dodge any oncoming attack that Ivar made, but they proved to not be as effective. As a result of her effort, the most Astrid had done was make a few scratches on his face, and as well as lob her axe into the side of his left shoulder, but even that was not enough to stop him.
And now Ivar had a plan up his sleeves.
Knowing that Astrid was attempting to slow him down by circling him, he did not bother spinning to follow along with it. He began by using his bullhook to even the odds and make her attacks less efficient by using both ends of the weapon. He would spin the bullhook in circles around him and reach out to parry and block any attacks she made, making it nearly impossible for him to even get another scratch on him. Once she was directly in front of him however, that's when he went out on her.
He struck fast with both ends of his bullhook, advancing on her which caused the young shieldmaiden to back up from every move he made, until finally she found herself down on the ground.
Ivar spun his bullhook at her legs, causing her to fall down to the ground and land hard on her back in pain. She then looked up at the slowly advancing Viking and attempted to back up in desperation and fear from the crazed boy's gaze. She did not know what else to feel or where else to go. There was nowhere to run. She shockingly felt scared, and she felt like she was now going to die…
"I told you that you couldn't win, Hofferson." he laughed. "Now… enjoy your eternity in Helheim as I-!"
It was then that Ivar suddenly felt him get knocked off of his feet, hurling backwards as he too fell hard to the ground - landing head first into the dirt from the unexpected attack.
Though surprised, he grunted in anger and slowly began helping himself up with the support of his bullhook. As soon as he was straightened out, he turned around towards the ones who struck and gave a baffled, disbelieving look.
Before him stood Hiccup with Toothless who helped Astrid up to her feet. However, what caught his main attention was not just the scrawny Viking alone, but as well as the three Vikings that stood at Hiccup's side.
It was Ivar's brothers; Ubba, Hvitserk and Sigurd.
"My brothers…" he said angrily. "So it was YOU THREE who were helping Hiccup out from the start! Ubba, Hvitserk and Sigurd you damned traitors! How could you betray me!? How are you even ALIVE!?"
"You were the one who betrayed us!" spat Ubba. "You casted me out when the first Great Army invaded Britannia, and you tossed me and your people into the dirt!"
"You sentenced me to die on a prison island!" growled Sigurd. "Me and the Völsung Clansmen you betrayed did not want another war, and yet you brought it anyways! It because of this that we became the Warsung under Magnus! He has proven to be a better Chieftain than you!"
Hvitserk's brows lowered. "And you were the one who shunned me aside even after all I did for you, Ivar. I supported you every step of the way, and yet even after we returned to Norway you still treated me like a dog and threatened my warriors, who were YOUR PEOPLE! Why do you think Kattegat has lost so much after you proclaimed Ubba and I dead!?"
"If our father saw you for what you are, he would be disappointed in you, little brother!"
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Ivar yelled as he slammed the base of his bullhook into the ground. "Ragnar chose me to be his Heir before he died, and I carried out his dream! I am the true son of Ragnar Lothbrök! The rest of you on the other hand are nothing! When you die you will be thrown out of Valhalla, while I will be the one to sit by my brothers and sisters of the Aesir, as well as our father and Odin himself!"
"You stand no chance against me; a God!"
The group's eyes widened with a mixed feeling of disturbance and confusion at Ivar's words. He really was insane...
"You think your father would have ever wanted THIS?" asked Hiccup. "A war against the whole world!? You're mad! And you proclaiming yourself a God? Odin would never accept you!"
"Say what you want, Slave!" Ivar taunted. "But unbeknownst to you, I am the one who has the better of this battle! GENERALS, RALLY TO ME!"
Ivar's voice bellowed out loudly, and surprisingly his three generals rallied to him in a matter of seconds with warriors at their sides, almost as if they were close by. Their weapon were unsheathed, and it was clear that they were ready for a fight.
"You called for us, my God-King!" the Jomsviking general saluted.
Ivar nodded. "Change of plans, generals! Bring me the heads of my brothers, and you will earn my favor! Now kill them!"
"As you command, my lord Ivar!" nodded the Völsung general. "CHARGE THEM, LADS! FIGHT FOR YOUR GOD AND KING!"
Hiccup spun his head, looking back at Astrid. "Free Stormfly and go help out the others! We'll deal with them!"
"I'll do my best!" Astrid replied. She then swiftly ran over to Stormfly, cutting off the ropes of the bolas in one strike before mounting up and swiftly flying off back towards the battlefield.
Ivar's generals wasted no time. They charged towards the four Vikings and Night Fury, with their warriors at their side following behind to help even the odds. But Hiccup only gave a smirk as he looked back at Toothless.
"Deal with their guards, Bud!" he nodded.
The black Dragon growled, charging up a plasma blast and quickly hurling it over the generals and towards their warriors that followed - and as the generals engaged Ubba, Hvitserk and Sigurd, Toothless stormed towards the weakened guards, ready to give them a living Hel.
During all of this however, Hiccup almost forgot about Ivar as he watched Toothless run into combat. At the corner of his eye he spotted Ivar rushing up to him with his bullhook raised out in front of him in an attempt to strike the lad, letting out a battle cry.
Hiccup immediately reacted, bringing up his fiery Dragon's Blade and blocking the attack. However, Hiccup was more surprised than anything after noticing that Ivar didn't slowly walked towards him, but rather charged him.
"You- you can run?" he asked. "But how is that possible?"
"You should thank my puppet Vlar for that." Ivar chuckled. "Were it not for him, I would have remained a cripple for the rest of my life. I will enjoy finally fighting you!"
"Then shut up and fight already, Boneless!"
"With pleasure, Slave!"
And from there, the two great warriors finally fought.
Hiccup knew that although Ivar was strong and as quick as he was, he was not invulnerable. He saw that Astrid had already done some damage to the Viking, and thus he took advantage of what she already did, especially towards Ivar's left shoulder.
To slow him down, Hiccup made swift but inaccurate attacks which would force Ivar into blocking and dodging every one of them. With every quick reacting move Ivar made to counter Hiccup's attacks, he felt the air from his lungs get less and less as he himself became more exhausted. He knew something was up, but he didn't know exactly what it was. After some time had passed however, it was then that Hiccup finally struck.
His fiery blade hurled around towards Ivar's bleeding left shoulder, and with a slice across the already inflicted wound he made the cut even deeper, causing Ivar to scream as he bashed Hiccup back with the tip of his bullhook.
Hiccup took a few steps back as he felt the weapon scratch across the side of his face. Almost immediately he felt small droplets of blood run down his face, but he did not care. He was more surprised than anything. For the first time ever, he actually struck Ivar with a grievous blow.
The Viking King looked back at Hiccup with a grim look as he ran a hand across the bloody wound on his shoulder. "You dare strike ME!? YOU DARE TO-!?"
Suddenly he felt himself get pushed down from behind to the ground head first as a black winged figure leaped over him and ran to Hiccup's side. Toothless had managed to swiftly handle the generals' guards, and was ready to assist Hiccup once more.
Ivar stood to his feet, feeling dazed. "You damn Night Fury!" he spat. "I will cut out your tongue and skin your hide-!"
His words were once more immediately cut off however as Hiccup took the opportunity to strike during his boast, punching Ivar with a swift and direct hit to the nose to which he then backed up with a surprised look on his face, glaring down at Hiccup.
"Do you see now?" Hiccup asked him. "Gods cannot be easily touched, and you only prove that you are not a God."
"And nor were any of your generals any better!" called out Ubba.
Hiccup turned his eyes, spotting Ubba, Hvitserk and Sigurd stepping forward out of combat, each of them carrying the decapitated heads of Ivar's generals in their hands as they threw them before their younger brother.
Ivar's eyes widened. "W- What?"
"Your generals lacked a lot of skill, Ivar." stated Sigurd. "Maybe you too have forgotten that we three are also the sons of Ragnar Lothbrök."
Hvitserk nodded in agreement. "Even now I feel his disappointment in you, little brother. You're no Viking, just a crazed Tyrant. You dishonor Ragnar and you dishonor our family name!"
Ivar only stood there in silence, taking in what his brothers had just said to him. Yet no matter how long he thought about their words, it did not at all affect how he felt.
The young Viking then unlatched a horn from the side of his waist and blew it loudly, calling out for his army- his Great Viking Army, to retreat, and before they knew it, the few remaining thousand Vikings began to flee out into the opened fields, running East towards the direction leading to Kattegat like a large horde of bulls. After all, they had lost more than what they even killed.
And they knew that they would never truly heal from their battle.
As the Great Army retreated, the combined forces of the Archipelago just stood there in shock, but also in confusion after seeing that the enemy was suddenly fleeing. Had they finally won?
Hiccup looked at Ivar as the Viking mounted onto his chariot, eye widened. "What are you doing?!"
"Celebrate while you can, Slave! If I can't finish you off, then I will leave it to my pet! He will enjoy burning your army to a crisp!"
Ivar quickly turned around to face out towards the field as his brothers and Hiccup stood there, almost stunned. But then he rose his bullhook up into the air and began spinning it wildly in circles. His grunt became a growl, and then his growl turned into screaming.
"AHHHH! AHHHHH! AAAHHHHHHHH!"
And then it happened…
The ground beneath their feet began to shake from a strong gust of wind that blew down violently from the clouds and onto the Vikings of the Archipelago. It was so strong that even the earth began to split and cause many small tremors to crack and appear, and as the armies of the Archipelago looked up to the skies they nearly trembled in fear and broke.
A roar louder than thunder boomed across the field, and the clouds were suddenly lit in bright flames as a Dragon larger than any they had ever seen flew down from above with its wings wide and out, landing and crashing down so hard that the ground itself shook like an earthquake.
The Red Death had descended...